Hydrotherapy uses the properties of water to support a person to complete movement, exercises and play. The warmth, buoyancy and hydrostatic pressure contribute to muscle relaxation, support the body to practice balance skills and provide resistance for muscle strengthening. It is beneficial for children with muscle weakness, coordination difficulties, high tone or pain. Water based therapy is fun and can improve your child’s confidence in completing movement based tasks that they find challenging on land.
Hydrotherapy helps to relax tight muscles, particularly as it is usually done in a warm pool. Our sessions are fun and help motivate kids!
Make a referral for Hydrotherapy
How does it work?
Our registered Physiotherapist will work with you and your child to identify suitable goals for Hydrotherapy. Depending on the child, it can be delivered one-to-one or in small groups of between 2-4 children.
Our sessions usually lasts for 45 minutes and involves the child and our Physiotherapist. A parent, support worker or other adult is required to be in the pool for group sessions and that adult is trained in administering Hydrotherapy themselves. For one-to-one sessions, parents are welcome to get into the pool with us, but it’s not required.
The service is based around specific goals. Some children do a once-off block of therapy for 6-12 weeks, while others have weekly, fortnightly or monthly sessions all year round.
The initial session will be on land and will involve an assessment of your child and a discussion around goals.
Hydrotherapy is appropriate for children who cannot swim, as long as close supervision and support is provided. It can be a good medium to introduce basic water skills such as floating, blowing bubbles and getting used to what it feels like to be in the water.
Benefits of Hydrotherapy
For children, Hydrotherapy can:
- Improve physical skills
- Improve exercise tolerance
- Strengthen and relax muscles
- Improve how joints move
- Alleviate pain or discomfort
Why choose Hydrotherapy over land-based exercise?
Hydrotherapy allows children to practice skills in the water that they haven’t quite been mastered on land as yet. For example, learning to walk in water expends less energy and kids understand more easily how to do the movement on land.
Water also naturally helps to relieve any pain or discomfort and reduces stress on joints. It means you can participate in a wider variety of exercise to increase muscle strength and physical function.
The resistance of the water during movement better strengthens muscles and the buoyancy provides better support.
To find out more about Hydrotherapy, get in touch with us today. If you’re ready to get started, make a referral now.